An Attitude Of Gratitude

I have had a lot of very excited responses from people over the years once they have been informed that they have passed the automobile road test.  Testees are told whether they pass or fail at the conclusion of the test, followed by a review of their positive and negative actions and me handing them a nice looking certificate.

The typical white under 18 teenager receives a positive result quite calmly, expecting of course that they are receiving what every good driver like them deserves.  Sometimes a parent will take a photo of child with certificate standing next to me.  If one of these kids fail the news is often taken harder by the parent who has spent much of their child's life building up his or her child's self esteem.  Plus the parent has shelled out a lot for driver education and some of them think that paying for the test is the same as paying for that nice looking certificate.

Things change a little bit once someone turns 18.  These young adults usually have not gone through driver's training, the demographics are often different and success has not been something that has been guaranteed.  This is true for whites as well as for minorities.  However in my experience the best responses have come from minorities.  And the older the person being tested (if they have not had a previous license) the bigger the response.

I get people jumping out of their cars after passing just the parallel park,  screaming for joy.  A young man nearby watching proudly yells at his family;  "That's my brother!  THAT'S MY BROTHER!"   I've had women finish the test, been informed that they pass, and do little "happy" dances, inside or outside the car.  Women and sometimes even men will lean over to hug me.  One very large African American woman almost totally enveloped me in her quite amble bosom.

I recently passed a middle aged Vietnamese man who leaned over and kissed me on my cheek.  "Oh my gosh" I thought, "I just had a man kiss".  The next day after passing a 20 year old white guy I got out of the car and his father, who was missing most of his teeth and looked quite older than what he probably was, came over to shake my hand.  For some stupid reason I remarked "What, no man kiss?"  which caused his face to turn pale while he stammered "Um, no th th thanks.  I need to be going now".  He quickly got into his vehicle.

Last year I informed a 22 year old woman from Jordan who came dressed for the test in her native clothing that she had passed.  Grabbing my hand very tightly and looking me square in the face she actually told me;  "Sir, you are the first man I have ever given my heart to."  Quite a nice complement, I think.

People clap their sweaty hands or raise them up and shout "Thank you JESUS!"  That actually happens quite a bit, sometimes preceded at the beginning of the drive by "Help me Jesus, help me Jesus, help me Jesus."  And for my part after the review I always try to part with a sincere "May God bless you."